Light beams or optical signals are frequently used to transmit digital data between electronic devices, both over long distances and between adjacent circuit boards or even between components on a single circuit board. An optical signal may also be used for other purposes including position or motion sensing, measurement, reading encoded data, etc.
Consequently, optical technology plays a significant role in modern electronics, and many electronic devices employ optical components. Examples of such optical components include, but are not limited to, optical or light sources such as light emitting diodes and lasers, waveguides, fiber optics, lenses and other optics, photo-detectors and other optical sensors, optically-sensitive semiconductors, and others.
Such systems making use of optical components often rely upon the precise manipulation of the optical energy or beam of light to accomplish a desired task. This is especially true in systems utilizing light for high-speed, low-energy communication of data. Such manipulation of an optical signal may include selectively encoding information in a light beam of the optical signal and directing the light beam of the optical signal to a sensor that detects the encoded light beam.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.